READING: Leviticus 21-22, Matthew 28
“So, departing quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, they ran to tell His disciples the news.”
Matthew 28:8
I can only imagine what the women must have thought when they went to that tomb that day. An earthquake had shaken the earth. An angel rolled the stone away from the tomb, and he then sat on the stone. The guards were so stricken with fear that they appeared as dead men. “Don’t be afraid, though,” the angel said to the women. “Jesus isn’t here. He has risen just like He said He would.”
In fact, the angel invited them to see where Jesus had been. They were to take a look, and then go tell the disciples that Jesus was alive again: “Come and see the place where He lay. Then go quickly and tell His disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead’” (Matt. 28:6-7). The angel had rolled the stone away not to let Jesus out (for He could walk through crowds and doors and whatever He wished), but precisely to let others in to see that He was not there. They would see that resurrection had taken place, and their job then would be to tell the story. They would tell the disciples, who would embark upon the process of proclaiming to the nations that continues to this day.
Indeed, our task is the same, except that we enter the empty tomb through the truth of God’s Word. All around the world are people who believe in and follow the risen Jesus not because they’ve walked into the place where Jesus lay, but because they’re read about the place in God’s inspired Word. In that same Word, they’ve read about Roman leaders who tried to deny the resurrection and early believers who so knew it happened that they themselves were willing to die for its message.
It’s the truth of that message that compels us to make disciples of all the nations. So, come and see, but then be sure to go and tell.
ACTION STEPS:
- Thank God that you have had access to the truth of the gospel so you might know about the resurrection.
- Having looked at the empty tomb today, be sure to tell somebody about Jesus.
PRAYER: “Lord, I praise You that You are the resurrection and the life. Help me to tell that story today.”
TOMORROW'S READING: Leviticus 23-24, Mark 1:1-22
